The Green Crayon
by Closely
Summary: This is the return of Souten, Shippou's "rival", for a new crayon. Rated for Inuyasha's language, unfortunately. Don't forget to lemme a review, please!


**The Green Crayon**

**By: Brenko**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, alright, and I doubt I ever will (insert T.T)**

**A/n: Whee! I thought this up after watching episode 68 of Inuyasha, with Shippou's beyond awesome crayons, and that kawaii little bo—err, girl, Souten.**

**Chapter: The Return of Souten**

The crayon snapped—it broke. On her final stroke, it cracked in half, rendering it useless to the little girl who was attempting to draw with it. The crimson-eyed child examined the act with an expression that could only be described as shock. But, hidden deep behind those red depths, there was a flicker of… horror, dread. Just a hint of it, but embarrassment was evident because her cheeks flushed instantly… or was that because of the shriek of outrage she was holding in her throat? She stared down at the unconsciously drawn picture of the certain kitsune she thought about everyday.

Looking around, however, one could see that her walls were lines with sketches and colors masterpieces… all of that same fox demon, the one who she had battled that time ago, and was evenly matched with, the one with the cute little crying mushrooms, and the _awesome_ spinning top. That one kitsune who had "lost" their duel, just so she could acquire the crayons she had wanted, the one who had walked away so stoically and talked like he was so mature. She hugged the crayon to her chest, cradling the wondrous creations that Shippou had once possessed, but donned on her upon his leave.

Tears welled in her eyes when she realized exactly what happened, the situation finally etching itself in her mind, and she sat back on her toes, pushing up from her knees, where she'd sprung to when the crayon broke. She had been _so_ close to finishing her final picture of the boy, and the crayon had had the nerve to_ snap in half_, to_ break_ on its own free will. She sniffled, defiantly fighting back tears brimming at her eyelids. They overcame her, flowing from her eyes and down her cheeks as she threw her head back and _wailed_ at the top of her lungs.

The familiar of the Thunder clan, the small red dragon, peeked into the doorway, hovering above the floor, and raised a brow at the picture-covered walls, and wincing at Souten's cry. "Hey, hey, hey…" Koryu appeased soothingly waving her hands—err, wings—in a pacifying manner. "What happened?"

Souten, her pigtailed black hair disarray from the sudden start of her familiar's arrival, jumped. Tears still flowed down her face in rivers, and she held up the green crayon, cracked in the center, and handing by a single thread of the flimsy paper, that wraps around the crayon, to the red dragon, which was floating a few feet away from the little girl on the floor. "The crayon," She whined. "…It broke."

Koryu sweat-dropped, its expression deadpan and uneventful, besides the pulsing stress mark on its forehead when another wail shook the room. Also, the dragon's eye twitched in irritation that Souten could get so worked up over something that was never used around these times. Still levitating, the red creature made its way over to the small girl, and took the crayon in its grasp. "Where did you get it?" It asked in its pitchy voice, rolling the crayon in its hands.

She sniffled. "Shippou gave it to me!!" She snapped in frustration, snatching the crayon back and attempting to straighten it out without breaking it further. Of course, when she tried to continue coloring, the crayon fell out of place again, this time the paper snapped with it and half of the crayon tumbled to the floor. It was official a useless piece, she convinced herself.

However, this only initiated another pitiful whine to emit from her and an earsplitting cry to erupt from her a moment later, causing Koryu to clutch its non-existent ears.

"OKAY, OKAY!!" Koryu yelled over Souten's bawl. "WE'LL GO AND FIND SHIPPOU-DONO!"

Souten stopped, mid-cry, mouth still wide and eyes clenched shut. She tilted her head to a much more relaxed position and blinked away her tears. A scarlet color stained her cheeks and she blushed hard, averting her eyes from her familiar. "Yeah?"

Koryu slowly removed its hands from its head and looked at Souten. Letting the word sink in a moment, Koryu slowly nodded yes.

The little girl's eyes lit up, redness and tears forgotten, as she jumped up from the floor and zoomed around her small home to collect her things. In the end, she turned up with only what was left of all her worn crayons, and the remnants of Hiten-aniki's thunder spear.

She was about grinning from ear to ear now, by the time the creature finished, and Koryu was casting her a nervous, worried look. '_Why on earth does she seem so happy to go see that brat again?'_ Koryu asked inwardly.

"Come on!" Souten encouraged, already bounding out the door.

Kagome, Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku, Kirara, and Shippou were all gathered around the fire for an evening meal in a secluded spot, trees hanging far over their heads, of the woods they were crossing. It was… some forest they were trekking through, to a nearby town with a rumor of a possible demon spotting. So, at the moment, they were away from Kaede's village, also known as home to the lot of them, in search for this demon. It had been mighty suspicious of the little bugger, because the humans they interrogated about it only said that it had half the village in a panic for all the questions it was asking. A demon rarely mingled with humans, let alone asked them questions.

Strange as it was, however, the demon left the town after it got the information it needed, though they weren't able to get what it was asking of, all too afraid to speak in the presence of Inuyasha, who refused to leave Kagome's side.

So, finally, as the villagers who they had talked to today, had said, they headed into the forest after the demon, which went into… this forest to be exact.

Shippou was a little edgy with the silence around the campfire—hesitant to speak his worries about the feeling he had in his stomach—and about being in the forest with a potentially dangerous youkai out on the prowl, who could be anywhere at this moment, with that stupid feeling he was having. But, he still wrestled mercilessly with Kirara to push all his worries to the back of his mind. They were rolling in the dirt and everything—the works for a normal session between he and Kirara. Kagome joined in on the festivities every once and a while, torturing Shippou with her tickling fingers of doom. She enjoyed initiating the tickle fit and beamed at Shippou's shrieks of laughter and protest. Kirara ever helped, taking turned nipping at his ankles whenever he kicked in protest to Kagome's hilarious antics.

Sango, Miroku, and Inuyasha, however, worked to ignore the antics of their comrades and the joyous activities they took part in across the pit of orange warmth. They were all wearing well-guarded expressions and were on high alert, each and every one of them.

The glowing magenta eyes, filled with a silent flare of emotions, of the taijiya were flickering in the light, constantly moving across the grounds they had claimed for the evening. Her left hand was, unconsciously, snaked around the hilt of the short sword at her hip, adorned to her along with her battle armor. The gas mask that she usually wore during battle was hanging loosely around her neck, and even her Hiraikotsu was over her shoulder and ready to be thrown from her right hand.

The monk's wandering orbs were hidden, for once, under his eyelids while Sango was in such a get-up—probably only a one-time deal. Of course, that was one of the reasons they were closed. He was concentrating too hard to be distracted by such things as a woman's beautiful body. For once, there seemed to be a sense of decency emitting from the houshi, as he didn't make one note as to Sango's outfit—a very unusual thing, even at the time of battle.

The silver-haired one's yellow eyes were half-closed, narrows at the forest around him. Inuyasha's ears were flicked back and twitching like mad, his hands resting on the Tetsusagia, which was lying across his folded legs.

And, all the while, crimson orbs stared down at them from the foliage above them all. The eyes beheld a grin that could even make the cheshire cat envious to compete.

There was something in the air—a strange presence around him. It was something familiar, he was sure of it, but it was also like he hadn't sensed it in a while, so he lost all recollection of who it was exactly. His golden eyes were narrowed still, into cat-like slits for eyes now, but he was relaxed somehow, like he was in no immediate danger and he knew it. He let his instincts take lead, however, and let them deal with the situation, while Inuyasha reclined to the back of his mind, and allowed his senses to do all the work. There was an odd scent in the air, one he couldn't quite identify just yet. His ears were jittery, flicking left and right with all the sounds of the forest around him and the screeches of laughter around him.

But, what _really_ worried him was that he couldn't catch sight of this disturbance… anywhere. It perturbed him, sent him over the edge with anger and frustration when his senses failed him, and concerned him like never before.

Inuyasha knew that Sango and Miroku could sense it, too. Just by the nervous twitch of Sango's eyes whenever a new sound erupted around them, whether it be Shippou or even the wind, and Miroku's brow was creased in concentration (concentration that he knew did not have to do with Sango), he could tell. Seemed he wasn't the only one having trouble placing the likely nemesis.

The anxious hanyou also knew that, if Kagome, Shippou, and Kirara weren't so caught up in their roughhousing as they were, they would sense it too.

Shippou stopped laughing suddenly, even as Kagome, who was grinning like mad, violated his ticklish sides with her relentless onslaught of evil tickling digits and Kirara licked his cheek raw with her rough, sandpaper textured tongue, and blinked rapidly.

…What was that he felt…? It was… familiar.

Kagome paused in her attack when Shippou stopped laughing so abruptly that it startled her. "Aww, what's a matter, Shippou-chan? Give up already?" She teased, meaning nothing of it, and grinned down at the fox kit. Even Kirara seemed hesitant to join back in on the fun/battle/war when the kitsune stopped.

Shippou shoved Kagome's hands away from his ribs and stomach, surprising her when she couldn't figure out whether he was being playful, serious, or just honestly didn't want to play with her anymore. So, safely, she decided to keep her hands to her self and sat back on her ankles, hands in her lap.

Kirara mewed softly as Shippou rose to his feet, and the kitsune patted her head slightly, absently, still remaining silent. This caused Kagome to blink again.

She wondered… _'What's up with him?'_

"I've got to go." Shippou announced unexpectedly, eyes a little panicky and expression distressed as he prancing over to the edge of the campsite on all fours. "I'll be back soon…" He promised, "I hope, at least." His squeaky voice threw off his somber outlook, and Kagome has to fight back her giggles and the sweat-drop threatening to form on the back of her head. She, however, was worried by the sudden mood swing of the small kitsune, and blinked after him as he bounded off through the forest of trees.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku, the confusing presence disappeared. Just after Shippou.

The trio's eyes all flew open at once in understanding. The panic in Shippou's eyes—he knew. _They_ may not have been able to recognize the aura off the top of their heads but that didn't mean that _Shippou _couldn't!

The kitsune had _recognized_ it!

That set off a growl and a muttered curse from Inuyasha as he stood and clenched the Tetsusagia in his fist, balancing the sheathed and untransformed useless excuse for a blade on his shoulder with a scowl. Sango and Miroku followed his lead, standing also, while Sango heaving Hiraikotsu over her shoulder just as Kirara jumped into her arms, causing her to fumble in her adjustments.

Kagome stood as well, but only out of confusion, for she was too late to sense anything when Inuyasha stood. She had searched the area with her mind's eye then, but there was nothing, except for who was in the clearing now—she, Inuyasha, Kirara, Miroku, and Sango.

"We've got to find Shippou-chan." Sango was the first to speak up through the silence, her voice echoing somewhat as she moved her mask over her nose and her mouth. She shifted Hiraikotsu again with ease.

Nodding, Miroku tapped his staff on the ground twice, as if testing the rings' jingles on his weapon, a hand at his chin in prayer and his eyes closed. She was surprised, because before she knew it, she could see a purplish light emitting from around them and their campsite. But, judging by the blank looks Inuyasha and Sango had on their faces, she was sure she and Miroku where the only ones advanced enough with magic to see it—she suspected it was a shield to keep any evil spirits out, considering Kirara and Inuyasha were able to stay in here, due to their good intentions.

However, Miroku began speaking to Sango before Kagome could mention it. "Of course, Sango; we'll head out immediately." The monk confirmed. Even as he said this, he took Sango around the waist with one arm, despite the fact that she went rigid at his touch, and ushered into the forest.

Moments later, after Inuyasha and Kagome, both knowingly, decided to stay put and allowed them to wander off, a loud _CRACK_ was heard, and Kirara could be seen, caught between squeaking and mewing in surprise at the same time, fled back into the clearing. The cat demon hopped into Kagome's waiting arms, where she knew she would be safe from such noises again. Her ears were flat against her skull, and she seemed to look like she was glaring into the trees, brow low.

Not long after, Sango stormed back into the campsite, cheeks flushed in anger and embarrassment, and grabbed Kagome's wrist and left, with her small cat demon still in the miko's arms. "Hentai." Kagome heard Sango mutter.

Inuyasha, from behind the girls, huffed. And, seeing as no one was going to go peel Miroku off the ground, he trudged over to her after Kagome shot him a hard look. "Oi." The hanyou began, prodding Miroku in the side with his foot to flip the boy over. Sighing when the houshi only twitched for show, Inuyasha crouched down beside him and poked him in the cheek. "Get up. Now." He added the last part when Miroku made no point in moving.

Growling when, again, he got no response, Inuyasha flicked him in the forehead. This time Miroku's eyes flicked open with a glare and he rolled over to rub his abused forehead. "Do you always have to be such an ass, Inuyasha?" The monk asked, his tone light despite his words.

"Feh." Was Inuyasha's only response to such a question, before he turned away, arms crossed. "Get up so that we can get the hell going… I don't want to girls alone in the forest at night."

"I think I catch a hint of concern in there, Inuyasha; be careful." The monk said, standing and dusting himself off. "If I didn't know any better, I might say you were growing soft." Miroku taunted lightheartedly, a cheeky grin on his face. Inuyasha glared him down before grunting and taking the houshi by the collar. Doing this, he proceeded to drag the monk behind him by his robes, in an effort to get to Kagome and Sango quicker. Even _he_ wouldn't think of putting such a filthy handed hentai over his shoulder.

Shippou dodged around tree after tree. What in the world was she doing here?! Why did she come to find him again!? She couldn't _possibly_ want a rematch from someone who could beat her down so easily. After all, she was just a weak little _girl_ while he was a courageous and brave _big_ boy. There was no comparison.

The kit stopped at a clearing. So what if he got lost easily… or the slightest sounds in a quiet forest scared him…? Speaking of which, he dove for cover, shaking like a leaf in the wind, when he heard a rustle of leaves and saw some dark shadow plummet from the tree branches above him, tumbling into the open field that he had stopped at.

He peeked his head out when he heard a feminine shriek and a thump at the as the intruder hit the ground roughly. And, Shippou noted, face first. '_Almost like Inuyasha when he gets sat by Kagome…'_ Shippou thought with a snigger. This, however, alerted the dirt-covered mass of black… something on the forest floor. Was that… hair? Shippou mused idly, ducking back into the bush he had hidden in.

"Who's there?!" Came a muffled cry from the bundle of black. Whatever this thing was, it couldn't seem to pry its head from the ground, looking like an ostrich in hiding. Shippou had to clamp a hand over his mouth to stop the laughter and he cautiously made his way out of the bushes. This thing was of no threat if it couldn't even right itself.

The kitsune was feeling sympathy for the poor creature, having his head jammed into hollow trees many times before by an abusive Inuyasha when he got a little too annoying, so he took both the demon's hands and yanked upwards. Its head came out of the indent in the ground with ease at the extra leverage, but they both toppled over from the momentum, the creature backwards and, unfortunately, Shippou on top of it.

It was right about then that Shippou recognized the red eyes staring up at him in shock, the faint red color, which he had been accustom to after spending much time with the group, appearing on her cheeks. His own eyes widened and he jumped away from her.

"You!" They both exclaimed at once, pointing accusingly at each other.

"Souten!" Shippou continued in surprise. "What in the world is a wimpy girl like yourself roaming around here for—getting your head stuck in the ground and all? It's dangerous!" His hands were balled at his sides as if it was an outrage for her to be within fifty feet of him.

"I'm just as powerful as you, Shippou!" Souten countered instantly, on her feet and her fists clenched as well, mirroring his annoyance. Of course, she was _extremely_ glad to see him. She was going to get some more crayons. "And… I… I came to… ah, I… I CAME TO FINISH WHAT I STARTED!!" She blurted out, wondering where on earth that had come from. She didn't know why she couldn't just tell him that she needed some more crayons.

"Are you challenging me to another duel, Souten? Don't you remember who was going to win last time?!" Shippou snorted, leaning back on the heels of his feet and sticking his nose in the air, air smug.

"Me!" She shouted back and Shippou's pompous posture lost some of its effectiveness.

"What?! You weren't going to win—I was!!" Shippou yelled back. He couldn't remember ever arguing with someone like this, unless it was Inuyasha—but he didn't count. It was… almost fun. He was enjoying going one-on-one with her, knowing that he didn't have to worry about the others.

"You want proof?! We'll fight—right here, right now!" Souten screamed her reply—she was not having as much fun as Shippou seemed to think. She spun around. "KORYU!!" She called.

The red dragon that she called immediately swooped out of the forest and to Souten's side. "Yes, Souten-sama; what is it?"

"Keep look out. I don't want any interruptions." Souten snapped, her voice cold, and the floating creature flew off. Why did Shippou have to be so cruel to her? Calling her weak, and wimpy. She had done nothing to him yet. She hadn't even done anything to his companions this time!! There was no explanation for his actions. She glared across the field at him "You're nothing but a meanie, Shippou. It'll be an honor to win against you."

Shippou paused. Her voice was so cold to him now. There wasn't even that playful, challenging tone she'd held seconds ago in there. She was _really _angry with him. But, despite this revelation, he took a few steps back, hands balled beside him, preparing his greenish-blue kitsune bi, while Souten did the same with her similar purple blast.

They both fired at the same time, and they both of the reveled in the strange feeling of déjà vu. Where had they done this before?

That didn't stop them, though, and Shippou drew out his magic tops. He balanced three of them, each one spinning on a small finger, and grinned pompously at the demon girl. Souten arched a brow at him, and tossed out her sanbootoshi. The blocks grew large just as Shippou let loose his dangerous-looking, yet child-like green tops, and she launched them with her mallet. They collided, and fell to the ground in pieces.

They seemed evenly matched… again. What was there left? Shippou didn't have the toy that had provoked Souten and himself into their first duel this time, so… Shippou reached into his gi, and took out the crying mushrooms he found so useful.

Souten grinned at this, and withdrew her laughing chestnuts from her own outfit. So… maybe she was having a _little _fun.

Both Souten and Shippou tired themselves out not too long after they began the onslaught of chucking mushrooms and chestnuts back and forth at each other, and collapsed on their hands and knees for breath. Souten actually found herself giggling in amusement, her resentment fading the more they battled on.

They never expected to have company, though.

"Shippou-chan—"

"—What the hell are you doing?"

"I WANT HIS CRAYONS!"

"WHAT?! HECK NO!

"Be a man, runt! Give up the crayons!"

"SHUT UP, INUYASHA! THEY'RE _MY_ CRAYONS!" Shippou screamed back, clutching the small box of crayons in his hands. Souten was not a meter away from him, looking annoyed. Her hands were on her hips and there seemed to be a permanent scowl on her face. She had been quiet through the whole argument, rolling her eyes—scoffing every now and then. Kagome was not far off from the boys, either, deadpanned.

"Don't be such a damn brat! Give the girl whatever the hell she wants and she'll be out of your hair."

"BUT—!"

Kagome finally sighed, dropping her backpack at her feet and crouching with it. She fished through the yellow pack, searching for anything that might quench Shippou's want for something better. She grinned down into her pack and retrieved a rectangular case. Kagome flipped the top triumphantly, and smiled down at them again. Perfect. "Shippou-chan!" She called, rising to her feet.

Shippou looked over precariously, still watching Souten out of the corner of his eye. "Yea?" He replied.

"Take these... But, only if you give up your crayons to Souten-chan." Kagome held out the rectangular box with both hands while Souten protested the pet name Kagome gave her ("-chan?!"). Shippou looked over fully, mesmerized, as Kagome pulled out a particular colored sharpie—green, and uncapped it. Shippou stared, mouth open, at the felt-tipped glory. He could only _imagine _all the pictures he could draw with something like that.

He threw the box of crayons over his shoulder, where Souten scrambled to catch them before the fell and all broke all over again. Shippou bounced around Kagome's ankles like an infant until she finally let him hold the green-colored sharpie. And he took a big long whiff of its artistic goodne—Whoo, that made him dizzy. He did it again. Wow, the world spun. He felt pressure pound in his forehead, being easily irritated by the _strong_ smell of the ink due to his acute senses... and he keeled over backwards, spirals in his eyes and sharpie clenched in his hands.

"Hey, runt!" Inuyasha prodded, kicking the little boy in the side lightly. He didn't move, still dazed by the smell. Inuyasha shrugged and bent over him to see the contraption in his hands. What was it—? He sniffed it out of his own curiosity, and at his own risk, and instantly, he jumped back, covering his nose. "WHAT IS THAT SHIT!? IT STINKS!"

Kagome grinned, uncapped another one, and stuck it right in Inuyasha's face. The hanyou couldn't help it—he had to breath sometime. Accidentally, he inhaled the strong scent of the permanent ink... and, like Shippou, went flat on his back in a second flat.

Kagome took the opportunity to laugh aloud, even at her own friends' expense, while, still cuddling her new crayons, Souten wandered off.

**-**

The final stroke was applied, and Souten held up a new painting to the sunlight, grinning like the Cheshire cat. _'O, I bet Shippou would love this one...'_ The picture's contents contained a laughing Kagome, holding a red sharpie above her head triumphantly, while Shippou and Inuyasha sprawled unceremoniously across the ground not far off, both looking woozy from the aroma. She chuckled to herself.

No doubt _Kagome_ would enjoy this one

**A/n: Hehe, all done. Hope ya like it... and... REVIEW PLEASE :D**


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